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The royal family
Original poster

Republic of Barbados and Charles' visit

36 replies

HarrisonStickle · 29/11/2021 19:40

Tonight Barbados will become a republic.

Charles Windsor is over there and during a ceremony in the capital Bridgetown he'll receive the Freedom of Barbados for extraordinary service to the country.

What is this extraordinary service? I understand many think honouring him is in poor taste given how Barbados became involved in the slave trade because of the UK.

It feels like a sop to make up for the banishment of his mother as HoS.

OP posts:
WinnieTheW0rm · 29/11/2021 19:43

Presumably that's a matter for the Bajan people.

And the award will be for the monarchy in general (Prince Charles is representing the Queen) not the individual.

julieca · 29/11/2021 21:55

Yes of course its a sop.

Andante57 · 29/11/2021 22:00

As Winnietheworm has said, it’s up to the people of Barbados.

julieca · 30/11/2021 00:41

"Many Barbadians, including the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration, feel that the royal family’s only role in the handover should be to apologize for its endorsement of more than 300 years of slave trade and pay out to Barbados in the form of reparations.

“If you are breaking with the monarchy, then you cannot invite them to be part of that process,” the activist group’s general secretary, David Denny, told Barbados Today, alongside the announcement of peaceful protests during the republic celebrations. “I am not saying that you cannot invite the prince to Barbados, but not for our ceremony for Barbados to become a republic. It is a contradiction. It is not an honourable thing to do and I think it is an insult to Barbadian people.”"

www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a38376037/prince-charles-barbados-queen-removed-as-head-of-state/

upinaballoon · 30/11/2021 07:17

Hearing what was said on the news this morning I couldn't help wondering if Barbados will be part of the Chinese empire in 20 years time.

BeMoreGoldfish · 30/11/2021 07:20

It was a weird and sycophantic invitation - he absolutely shouldn’t be there. But people lose their heads around the monarchy - it’s all very odd.

WinnieTheW0rm · 30/11/2021 07:47

Well the republican group would say that, wouldn't they!!

Handover ceremonies are very much the norm. No compulsion to have one of course - that's entirely up to the departing nation. And this one chose to have one.

Notonthestairs · 30/11/2021 07:49

Should he have turned down the invitation? Wouldn't that have looked churlish?

Original poster
HarrisonStickle · 30/11/2021 08:36

Not at all saying he should have turned down an invite, it just seems a bit of an odd thing to have him there, that's all. And of course it's down to the people of Barbados Hmm, it doesn't stop anyone else commenting.

OP posts:
Andante57 · 30/11/2021 10:02

@upinaballoon

Hearing what was said on the news this morning I couldn't help wondering if Barbados will be part of the Chinese empire in 20 years time.
Yes - that may well be true.
julieca · 30/11/2021 10:31

The point is that some people in Barbados did not want him to be given that honour. You think everyone agrees on things on any country?

NotDavidTennant · 30/11/2021 10:36

it just seems a bit of an odd thing to have him there

Presumably there as the representative of the existing head of state (i.e. the Queen) at the time of the transfer of power. If the Queen had been in better health I imagine she would have been there rather than Charles.

ginghamstarfish · 30/11/2021 10:48

Surely it was their decision to invite Prince Charles? He could hardly have refused.

Andante57 · 30/11/2021 12:38

@ginghamstarfish

Surely it was their decision to invite Prince Charles? He could hardly have refused.
Imagine the uproar on mn if he had refused!
julieca · 30/11/2021 14:40

Surely he could have went but not accepted the award? No one would have known as these things are sorted out long before it is made public.

Viviennemary · 30/11/2021 21:04

He did the right thing going. It was their choice to invite him. It would have been really rude and undiplomatic to refuse.

ChurchofLatterDayPaints · 30/11/2021 21:04

What is it with these Windsors and their obsessive need for awards? Cringe.

julieca · 01/12/2021 05:25

@ChurchofLatterDayPaints yes they need constant fawning over.

Malvarrosa · 01/12/2021 05:41

It's an historic occasion because Barbados asked to stay in the Commonwealth even after following the people's will to become a republic, and the Commonwealth agreed - setting a new precedent that a country can remove the UK monarch as head of state and still remain in the Commonwealth without having to leave and reapply for membership. Charles is there to represent the Commonwealth. Of course not every Barbadian likes the decisions that were made, but for god's sake get a grip of the international context before weighing in.

SickAndTiredAgain · 01/12/2021 06:14

@julieca

Surely he could have went but not accepted the award? No one would have known as these things are sorted out long before it is made public.
But why would he? That would seem a bit like the RF was stamping its feet over the Queen not being head of state anymore. The polite thing to do is surely accept the invitation, say thank you for whatever award it is, and if asked, generally say some nice positive things about the future of Barbados.

I appreciate some in Barbados won’t have wanted him to have the award, but as you said in a previous comment, not everyone in a country will agree on something so it’s not really for Charles to get involved with internal decisions.

ChurchofLatterDayPaints · 01/12/2021 06:15

for god's sake get a grip of the international context before weighing in

Not sure who that's addressed to, but "for god's sake" calm down and realise the damage these people do. Regardless of "context" there's nothing to reward them for.

Sittinginthesand · 01/12/2021 06:30

Charles was invited to the peaceful transfer of power and accepted - what other diplomatic response is there? Peaceful transfers of power are very rare - we can be proud of this. Charles acknowledged the wrongs of the past, which is even more unusual. OP you sound a little over emotional about this - you do realise that you can be a republican and against the institution without thinking that the individuals are terrible people. Charles wasn’t involved in the slave trade - he can’t apologise as of he was, it would sound patronising and insincere. He’s just a normal person who didn’t choose his role - which is the whole reason for opposing having a monarch, not that they are dreadful people.

julieca · 01/12/2021 06:39

It is not a peaceful transfer of power. What power did the RF have over Barabados?

ChurchofLatterDayPaints · 01/12/2021 07:31

you do realise that you can be a republican and against the institution without thinking that the individuals are terrible people

You can't, actually.

www.theroyalobserver.com/p/netflix-documentary-show-prince-charles-friendship-jimmy-savile

"On Savile's 80th birthday, Charles marked the occasion with "an extraordinary gift and an even more extraordinary letter. As well as a box of Cohiba cigars, Savile enclosed a pair of personal cufflinks and a note which Kay claims "eulogises" the former Top of the Pops host.
Charles reportedly wrote: "Nobody will ever know what you have done for this country Jimmy. This is to go some way in thanking you for that."

Then there's the paedophile priest Peter Ball.

So what's PC really done for our country?

ChurchofLatterDayPaints · 01/12/2021 07:35

And what's he really done for Barbados or the Commonwealth?

The RF will carry on handing out and receiving meaningless accolades because that's what they do.

It's just a shame Barbados didn't make a stronger statement.

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